The tastes of the
Anglo-Saxons were never very different from tastes on the mainland in Europe.
Amongst all the descendents of the northern tribes that the Romans had called
barbarian, there was great admiration for artistic workmanship in gold.

There was a view that this
interest in gold was a basic element of barbarian taste. The barbarians, it was
thought, were concerned with amazing by the costliness rather than to attract by
comeliness: to astonish rather than to charm. Certainly, in the Anglo-Saxon
culture, as in others, the costliness of gold was part of its attraction.

The minstrel who in Widest,
one of the oldest of all Anglo-Saxon poems, received an arm-ring from one patron
and a splendid jewel from another was interested in their value as well as their
radiance, and he was quite forthright in his statement that the ring, given him
by Eormanric, contained six hundred shillings’ worth of pure gold. This poem
refers back to the pagan and Continental period but in Christian times, jeweler
and gold were as evaluated.

The Anglo-Saxon poets and
writers were so hypnotized by the crafts of the jewelers and goldsmiths that
they turned naturally to them for their similes and metaphors. A frosty surface
could, therefore, be ‘as clear as glass and very like gems’; one great
Anglo-Saxon king could be likened to a ‘splendid gem’ which ‘illuminated our
darkness’. And then the glory of another compared to streams of gold. The
righteous were those ‘separated from their sins, like beaten gold’. Christ’s
blood was compared to ‘the red gem’. And even the Word of God was said to be of
jeweled gold.

We should not too easily
assume that the visual tastes of the poet were also those of the lay observer –
the aesthetic feelings expressed by Virgil were very different from those of
Pliny. However, in the Anglo-Saxon period, the tastes of the poet were exactly
those of society at large. If the secular elegist of the deserted city speaks
of its gold and jeweled radiance, and the writers of religious poetry envisage
heavenly cities as being rich with gold and treasure. The chronicled accounts
of actual courts and actual monasteries are just as refulgent.

Artists and Craftsmen in
Anglo-Saxon England

The interest of the
Anglo-Saxons in resplendence means that much of our information about their
artists is weighted in favor of those who worked in gold. Two secular poems in
old English illustrate this well. One presents an extended account of the
gifts, and the other of the fortunes, of man. Both ignore completely the
sculptor and painter but give attention to the worker in precious metals – the
one who ‘is assigns wonderful ability in the goldsmith’s art’: the one who are
‘cunning in gold and gems whomsoever a prince of men bidet him prepare a jewel
for his adornment’. The same bias is seen amongst handled gold or goldthread.
For various reasons, this esteem was expressed with special force during the
period after the Anglo-Saxons’ own eclipse – soon after the Norman Conquest.

Before the Conquest, there
was no feeling that the craftsmen were inferior to the intellectual: no
patronizing of the gifts of the hands by those endowed with gifts of the head.
All such talents derived from the same God who

Variously distributeth His
gifts:

To one virtues, to another
crafts,

To another…

A well-orderd mind

In this context of
versatility, the two crafts most often associated by writers were those of
calligraphy and painting, and we see that Dunstan, Edith, Mannig and Earwig were
all scribes as well as painters. The combination of these two skills would, of
course, be especially valuable for the production of beautiful manuscripts in
monasteries, and these skills were probably already associated in the earlier
period.

The work of the goldsmith
was held in such great esteem that monk-goldsmiths continued their craft even
when they had become abbots. What is more, they considered themselves free to
travel about to different commissions, and we know of two abbots in the eleventh
century who made journeys to other monasteries in pursuit of their artistic
vocation. Some time before 1047, Spearhaforc, who himself then abbot of
Abingdon, was fashioning figures in metal at St. Augustine’s Cantebury. And, in
the decade before the Conquest, Mannig, the abbot of Evesham, was invited to
make artistic objects ‘at Catebury, in the church of Coventry, and in many other
places’. If abbots with pastoral and administrative care of communities could
move from one place to another to practice their crafts, we might suppose that
other monastic craftsmen also traveled if they could get the necessary
permission. There is even indication that, on occasion, both monastic and
secular craftsmen went abroad.

The Anglo-Saxons also called
in workmen from other areas and other countries. In their ancestral lands,
mirrored in Beowulf, their forebears had sent throughout the whole known world
to find artificers to furbish Hrothgar’s mighty hall.

Costume and Vestments

The Anglo-Saxons for
particularly costly garments and vestments, as we have seen, used imported
silk. This must have added richness of color and delicacy of texture to both.
And also a much-needed variety, for neither changed very much during the
Anglo-Saxon period; the lay garb remained comparatively simple, and the
vestments naturally followed the established traditions of the church. The
chief method of diversifying garments for those who could afford it was by
decorative embellishments. Stripes and trimmings in purple and other colors
gave variety to some of the secular garments. Others were enhanced by
delicately embroidered patterns, which are often seen in manuscript paintings
and drawings of the tenth and eleventh centuries, and which are well exemplified
by a drawing of Christ…However, in the centuries of wealth the enhancement
common to both secular and religious attire was gold embroidery, supplemented on
rare occasions by pearls and jewels.

It is true that only shreds
of fabric and leather have been found with the skeletons, but the jewellery –
brooches, pins, clasps, buckles, etc. – That originally both fastened the
garments to the body and acted as decoration have survived, and a careful
analysis of their positioning has told the archeologist a good deal. These
pagan grave deposits continued for several decades after St. Augustine’s
mission. But if Christianity itself bequeathed two other forms of evidence:
the one the written word, the other figural art which included representations
of dress. Portrayals of Anglo-Saxon attire survive in stone and ivory carvings,
but chiefly in manuscript-paintings.

One find has been recovered
from a peat bog in Jutland, which dates back to a time when The Angles were
occupying part of that peninsula before their migration to England. It consists
of a singular piece of cloth, five feet seven inches in length and nine feet in
circumference, and is like a sack open at both ends. Originally girt at the
waist, and fastened over each shoulder, this example also has a flap across the
shoulders, which could be turned up against the weather like as embryonic hood.
Below this kind of gown or robe, the earliest Anglo-Saxon women in England
probably wore a blouse with long sleeves ending in leather or woven cuffs, and
over it a cloak of coarser weave. Pins positioned at the heads of the female
dead also suggest that some kind of headdress was in use.

ANGLO SAXON JEWELRY

Burial Sites: A Key to
the Past

Most of the information
we have about Anglo-Saxon Jewelry comes from grave excavations.

At a grave site, the
amount of jewelry and the quality of it gives clues concerning the status of the
person buried. This woman was buried in a Norton cemetery with several different
artifacts including a pair of silver bracelets. The silver bracelets are the
only ones found in the cemetery, causing us to believe that the buried woman
must have been well respected.

What Was Jewelry Made
From?

Bronze, gold, and silver.
Bronze was most common, while gold and silver were usually for those of higher
status.

Anglo-Saxon Jewelry

An Anglo-Saxon woman
wearing a necklace, brooch, girdle hanger, wrist clasps, and a key to her house.

These pairs
of wrist clasps were made of bronze and were used to fasten shirtsleeves.

Girdle Hangers were hung from a woman’s waist and are believed to have
no functional use. However, they are believed to be symbolic, perhaps
representing a woman’s role as head of her household.

These
rings were all made from gold and belonged to persons of royal descent. The
first ring, belonging to Aethelwulf, king of Wessex, has his name inscribed on
the front.

The second ring belonged
to Aethelwulf’s daughter.

The third set of rings
are designed with snakes and wire. These rings were also made of gold.

A set of latchkey
lifters.

Necklaces were often
adorned with beads, precious stones, pendants, and crosses. Rock crystal
pendants were believed to have special properties in the eyes of pagan Saxons.

Brooches were used to
fasten clothing together, such as cloaks. This brooch, inlaid with garnet,
glass, white shell, and gold, is the finest of its kind and is a symbol of the
great wealth.

Belt buckles- This belt
buckle was found in a prince’s grave. It was made of gold and inlaid with
garnets.

Silver ‘fish’ buckle

This buckle has the
figure of a naked man wearing a headdress of eagle heads and holding two spears.
This figure indicates the cult of Woden.

Anglo-Saxon Architecture: Churches

and their history

It was thought for hundreds of
years that there were no remains of Anglo-Saxon architecture in Britain. There
really isn’t much architecture when it comes to secular buildings but the
surviving parts the Saxon features were discovered in ancient churches. Most of
what is still left is claimed as some form of Anglo-Saxon origin.

Although there are many churches
with Saxon features, there are only about 50 churches that are important Saxon
structures that are still standing. Because of Norman invaders many Saxon
churches have become a major part of the rebuilding process in Britain. Many
small buildings still stand but they are small, not preserved very well, and are
located in areas that are known to be "architecturally unfashionable."

About 85% of Saxon architecture
dates back from 950 when many churches were destroyed by Viking raids and were
rebuilt in later times. Even though most churches and buildings were destroyed,
some "gems" as they are called or "churches" still survive and have lasted for
many centuries. Some of them are practically untouched and they are remaining
from early minister or monastic churches. There are many specific features of
the Saxon churches such as: pilaster strips and a more famous feature is the
type of window.

One church that still stands is
the Church of All Saints or the Brixworth. The date of the construction of this
church is unknown but it is the most beautiful and amazing church still standing
from it’s time period in England. It is a center of Christian worship and has
been since it was constructed. It is the biggest building still surviving from
those early years of Saxon architecture. The Brixworth is unusual because it is
100 feet in length and is very large compared to other Saxon churches. It has
survived for a long time and it’s quite surprising to many. There is no real
explanation only that it is a "fortunate coincidence." However this church is
not the oldest site in Brixworth. There is a Roman Villa north of the Brixworth
church that still stands made up of Roman tiles and there is an Eagle carved in
the doorway. The Eagle is a mystery and its meaning is still to be discovered.

There are still some other
remains of Anglo-Saxon churches but very few. The cause of this is the way in
which the Saxons built their structures. They used wood which is an impermanent
material to build. Another cause of the disappearance of Saxon architecture is
because the Viking raiders burned down everything. Most of the remains come from
post Viking times in the 10th and 11th centuries. However, churches are an
exception to what still remains. There are still pieces of early Saxon churches.
Saxon and Roman stones were used to build these churches and some of those walls
still exist. The most common Saxon stones are the rough hewn stones that
typically surround the windows and doors f the churches. Many of the foundations
of these churches are purely Saxon with more a more modern structure above
ground.

An example of a church still
surviving is the Greensted church in Essex. It was founded in 845 and is called
"the oldest wooden church in the world." It has a brick exterior and a nave that
is made of vertical oak logs, tongue and grooved in place without using nails.
This church originally had no windows and the only light was torch light.

The windows in Saxon churches
were small, narrow, and deeply set. The tops of the windows were rounded and
triangularly shaped.

The churches had towers that
represent the Dark Ages of England. The church towers were developed by the
Saxons because they tried to fight off the attacks of the Danes. The towers were
used as look out posts and often times a refuge for many in the village. This
was a necessity for the Saxons but became later a tradition in the building
churches.

Crosses were used when
Christianity was young in England and carved crosses were built at sites near
the villages for the monks and priests to preach. These crosses were built in
what were already known to be "sacred" in pagan worship. Churches were built
later on in these sites where the crosses were to maintain the sacredness of
these places of worship.

England does not have many surviving
Anglo-Saxon buildings because of warfare invasions in the years 800-950 but most
architecture that survived after fires and warfare date from either 600-725 or
900-1050. Later the Saxon churches were built more with stone rather than wood.
There are two places where the earliest Saxon buildings exist. It is in the
southeast near the county of Kent and in North Umbria.

The larger Saxon buildings namely the
monasteries were rebuilt in the Norman period and most Saxon architecture
remains underground. Most of the smaller Saxon churches were simple in lay out
divided by a rectangular chancel and a narrow arch. Most churches are small and
do not display the same style of the later Norman times of churches. The doors
and windows are simple and there are not many decorative elements. The
separation between the chancel and the nave were small and thought to be the
builder’s choice to construct them in this manner so that the mystery of the
chancel shrine was away from those visiting in the nave.